


Netting

by Zugzwang (thunderdone)



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-07
Updated: 2014-12-12
Packaged: 2018-02-28 10:51:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2729699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderdone/pseuds/Zugzwang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A look at how Gavin can comfort and helps his coworkers while shit goes down for them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this over a span of two nights from around ten to midnight. Please be gentle. I was tired.

Everyone has that one go-to friend. 

They're that one friend that if you go through a particularly bad break up, and if you even give the slightest innuendo that you need someone, they'll be by your side in seven minutes, with your favorite movies and a few bags of your favorite potato chips.

If you've gotten yourself into a particularly bad situation, and accidentally contacted them while drunk or drugged or whatever the hell it is, they will find a way to teleport to your location and help you through it. They will stay there all night, with no sleep, to make sure you don't injure yourself or do anything irrational. 

You may have considered dating them for a small amount of time, because of their charm and heir consideration for everyone around them, but it's better to be friends. Some may have suggested you ask them out, told you that "you'd be so cute together!" But really, their kindness would become strange, the person that you were used to contorting into a strange being who was just a little clingy. 

But in all honesty, even if you're not "a thing," you can still legitimately steal trinkets or sessions of snuggling or the occasional kiss, and pass it off as, near strangers, being a couple, or with friends, just being really comfortable together. 

Hell, females do it all the time. They'll cuddle close in cold times, share a bed, tackle and tickle each other, even at rare points, kiss. And they're comfortable with one another. They will admit that they love their best friend. Nobody can deny though that men become increasingly uncomfortable with one another. It's rare to find guys that will not shudder when standing too close to one another and one hand brushes another. It's rare to find two guys that are comfortable with anything of that sort. 

But then there was Gavin.

Within his group of friends, he was the constant, the one who would dance with danger and death as much as he pleased, but never let it lay a finger on him. He was the one who could whirl you up into the air on a whim, and although he would fake that he would never catch you, he always did. You could trust him to always be there. If you were lucky enough to earn it. 

Each one of his friends he caught in a different way, calm down from a storm, bring them up when in a rut. All six of his main colleagues he helped from all of their difficulties, or at least, scared away the terrors for a little.

For Ray, who would sometimes suffer from terrible anxiousness and doubt in his life, he would head to his house the moment he got a message, arriving their within minutes with a small grin and hair askew. 

Often, he tried to divert the topic for him, get him to forget it for a little while. He'd boost confidence by playing any one of Ray's favorite video games, which he was more often than not, a great deal better than Gavin at, and let him demolish him. Mercilessly Ray played, with each shot and each of Gavin's distress signals, his confidence growing a little. 

Ryan suffered from insomnia, the thief coming in the night and stealing away his sleep and sanity alike. Whenever Gavin heard that Ryan wasn't having one of his easy nights, if he ever had one of those, he'd get over to his house whatever way he could, and try to calm his mind, let some few hours of sleep seep in. If he did fall asleep, he wouldn't leave like most people would, he stayed the full however many hours Ryan slept, making sure he slept without any disturbances. 

Jack didn't frequently need any help coping with his day-to-day life. He was content with his life, enjoying his work and colleagues and the fan base that supported them all they could. But when he got himself into too many things at one time; planning a charity live stream, plus the holidays, plus AWHU, plus HUNT, stress could get the better of him. When that happened, Gavin did what he could to help dig him out of the hole he had dug himself into, being best at any of the filming parts of AWHU and HUNT. Sometimes he helped with ideas for it, but that wasn't frequently his area of expertise. On those days, Gavin would bring in some small cookies he knew Jack loved. 

He had always been more of a rock for Geoff than anything else. Change is good, people say, but sometimes, change from things going all wrong to suddenly all right is terrifying. You get a sinking feeling in your stomach every single time something you know should go wrong, that people will reprimand you for it, that it cannot be stopped or anything, and then in a flash... It's fine. 

Nothing bad. 

Everything will be okay. Geoff had that. Like everyone else, sure, he loved his job, everything about it, but things rarely went wrong, went wrong how they should have. Gavin was the stone that reminded Geoff that some things did go wrong, and why they had to keep at what they held close for the simple reason of being true and unchanged by conflict except in a positive way. 

Michael was by far the most difficult to calm. He was a tempest. He wasn't one by Shakespeare's definition in the least, but he was chaotic and unpredictable while in one of his rages. Frequently when Gavin attempted to calm him, it was as if he was trying to stop a hurricane with a million hands. You just can't. 

But when his patience and determination made him steadfast, he would not budge until Michael was calm. There were three ways that he could always rely on to suck the heat from his friend and stop the storm.

The first and easiest, but the most costly in the end, was to wear him out. Once during one of his more pronounced sessions of virulence and acrimony, Gavin had led him to a small closet within his own house filled with junk, helping him release all the tension and malice within him. One he had been worn out, and Gavin had finally taken the time to sort out the destruction, he located things he regretted destroying.

The second way took the longest, but it was the one with the least amount of damage to anything. Gavin would force them both to sit across from one another, and do nothing. No speaking. No large movements. Nothing. After even as long as an hour, when the tension was no longer tangible, things relaxed, and they could do whatever they wanted, as long as Michael stayed calm and content. 

The final way way was used only under extreme circumstances. The final way was just to let a Michael shout at him. Let all the anger out directed towards him and not towards someone who had it worse off than him, like some clerk at a store accidentally or a colleague. To him. Yes, it lowered his own mood and made his esteem go down, but Michael felt better and would apologize the next day. That's all that mattered. 

But nobody was Gavin's safety net. He fell alone.


	2. Parachute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at how the members of Achivement Hunter help Gain through pressure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys requested that I create a second chapter for this, so here it is. I worked really hard on this, and it took me a long ass time to write. So here's the happy ending you wanted. No sarcasm intended.

Lazer Team. Slow-Mo. Ten Little Roosters. Play Pals. Achievement Hunter. Voicing Vav to go with X-Ray. Small break for food. Little sleep. Repeat. 

Sure, all of it was exciting. Thrilling. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. These were things many only dreamed of; being in a movie, having their own cartoon based after some things said by them, playing video games for a living. Basically, doing everything they love all rolled up into once nice little package with a pretty green and red bow on top. Sure, all of these things were great looking in the packages, all dressed up, but once they were opened. 

Boom. No way in, no way out. 

Layered upon one another like a stack of books, alone, one of these things were nice. It was simple to keep track of in the beginning. Slow-Mo on days cleared by both himself and Dan. Then along came Achievement Hunter. Sure, in the beginning, he had basically blackmailed himself into Rooster Teeth, thinking it would forever be a quiet sunshine and rainbows company, really. 

But then the audience grew. Greater profits were made. A new series was developed by the name of Ten Little Roosters, paralleling the Ten Little Indians poem of And Then There Were None. Sure, he was only in it for about two episodes, but having to act against a blank space known as his clone was moderately challenging, so it took a while to get right. And edit. 

Then along came Play Pals. Sure, people took over for himself and Michael as they were off filming other things, and sure they were somewhat entertaining as long as Michael didn't get too pissed, but it only added to his work load to edit. And if Michael did get into one of his rages, he was the one who usually had to calm him or be pummeled. 

He had to somehow in the span of a few minutes, if Michael had turned the Play Pals into a Rage Quit, turn from a stressed mess to himself once again. In the form of a superhero. Who was oblivious to how the whole "saving the earth" sort of thing worked. A happy oblivious to how the whole "saving the earth" sort of thing worked superhero British person.

Finally, then, there was Lazer Team. That was by far the most stressful. Sure, it was brilliant, getting to work with everyone on a movie, a movie for fuck's sake! But the long hours and seemingly unending days which rolled into one another almost monotonously when you were as tired as he all came together as one giant dictionary dropped on his already loaded pile of books. 

When Gavin came home, more exhausted than normal from a twelve hour day, he found his room in utter disarray with a pleased looking kitty sitting in front of him. Books were off shelves, some delicate trinkets he had assembled over the years were shattered on the floor, some spare camera gear had been toppled over (but that wasn't much to worry about because of the protective casing it was placed in), and finally some photos of old friends and new ones alike were scattered, the corners chewed and thin claw marks pulling down them.

His first real reaction was shock. Such a small thing had created such an enormous disaster, but why? Had she been shut in his room all day? A soft sigh escaped his lips as he dropped his backpack down by the door, heading over to a beanbag chair in the corner to determine the damage the cat caused overall. 

That didn't exactly happen. Gavin picked up an old picture, one of himself and Dan and Freddie Wong of Rocket Jump along with a ton of fans. It had been just before the shooting of the slow-mo water balloon fight, and there were so many people and so many supportive fans and it had to have been one of the best days of his life.

There was a long claw mark going through the middle of Dan's face.

For a quarter hour he sat there, staring at the memory fragment torn asunder, before he was interrupted by a gentle knock, then swearing. "Gavin- Jesus Christ, Gavin, what the hell happened!?" Gavin quickly stands, squawking quietly as he tiptoes as much as he can around broken bits of glass, peering out from behind the door, picture still in hand as he locked eyes with an incredulous Geoff. "What the hell happened!?"

Gavin looked down at Geoff's feet a little in front of him, his cat carefully purring and winding its way around his legs. "I... She was... The cat did it... I just can't deal with it right now, Geoff." His expression softens at Gavin's quiet voice as he sighs a little, peering into the room. "Hey. Gav. Look here."

Gavin looks up, tears beginning to pool in the corner of his eyes as a subtle smile is given to him. "How about I call Meg and everyone else and we can have a more relaxed fun night, okay? I'll put away what I cooked up for tomorrow, and we can order Chinese or pizza or whatever. I can deal with the mess, okay? Just relax," Geoff offers, hand already in his pocket to get his phone to contact the others. 

A hint of a smile begins to flit across Gavin's face as he nods. "Sure. I can order pizza and stuff if you call the others." He fishes his own phone from his pocket as he looks up to Geoff once again. "As long as it's no problem and all. I mean, I don't want to be a bother." Geoff nods as he scrolls through his contacts. "Not a problem at all."

Calls are made and phones are answered. Gavin orders three pizzas; a large cheese, a large pepperoni, and a small mushroom and onion he knows both Ryan and Meg enjoy. Ray and Jack would probably get most of the cheese. as Michael, Geoff, and himself would split the pepperoni before anyone could possibly object. Geoff contacts Michael and Lindsay, then Meg, Ray, Jack, and finally Ryan, in that order so Gavin's "boi" could get there first to comfort him. As usual. 

Once they finish their calls, Geoff offers Gavin a smile as he nods to the catastrophe in Gavin's room subtly. "Why don't we clean up a little before everyone gets here, sound good?" Small nods are exchanged as they enter the room once again, Geoff ushering the kitty out carefully as he walks over to the dresser, kneeling down to carefully brush away any of the unbroken objects, such as a clock, a radio, a small wooden Apple that could be opened to reveal a small wooden bug inside (a gift someone had given Gavin from a trip to Costa Rica or something), amount other such trinkets. 

Gavin watched hesitantly from the sidelines, walking away momentarily and returning with a dustpan and brush to sweep up bits of shattered glass and a few bits of ceramic, what-used-to-be-a-model-horse-from-a-friend. His hands shook as he swept up the old horse and the small scale replica of himself sent in by a fan, made out of clay and painted a gentle green color, seemingly trying to resist the memories that were shattered. Literally and figuratively. 

Geoff replaced unbroken objects and carefully piled old photos they'd have to recover until the doorbell rang, as he then walked downstairs to pay and get the pizza, setting it onto the counter after the transaction had been completed. Gavin appeared downstairs a few minutes later with a shy smile. "Pizza?" 

A soft snort of a laugh escaped Geoff as he shook his head. "No, it's not pizza, they're bicycle wheels put in pizza boxes and with canvas pained like pizza in the middle. Why the fuck would it be pizza. We never ordered any of this pizza you speak of. What is it?" He grins back at Gavin, who had burst into quiet, nearly silent laughter. "Jesus Christ, of course it's pizza."

Then, shortly the "bicycle wheels" arrived, Michael, Lindsay, and Meg arrived as well. All around the same time, Lindsay and Meg already talking and laughing together about something or another, as Michael rang the doorbell, now and then putting in a few words of his own opinion on the topic at hand.

Both Gavin and Geoff went to the door, almost racing until Gavin slid on the floor in his loose socks, swinging his arms back and forth haphazardly to steady himself. Geoff got the door with a grin. "Hey! Great to see you guys!" Stepping aside for them, Geoff laughs a little as he exchanges words of welcome and whatever with Meg and Lindsay, as Michael walked over to Gavin, who was leaning on the counter to try and regain his senses.

He looked up and smiled up at Michael as he caught his breath. "Hey!" The latter grins and pulls him into a hug. "Hey, boi. You gonna be okay? Or do I have to fuck shit up to make it better." Gavin smiles a little as he hugs back, resting his nose on the top of his head gently. "Nah. It'll be fantastic again sooner or later. Don't worry." Michael nods a little, not moving for Gavin. 

A few minutes later, Jack arrived and was this time greeted by Gavin. He offered his comforting smile to Gavin and gently ruffles his hair. "Hey Gav. What's up?" 

"Oh, nothing much!" The answer slipped out, habit getting the best of him as his typical grin sagged a little. Jack shakes his head a little and smiles. "Hey, we both get ahead of ourselves sometimes in our projects. You help me with mine, now it's time for me to help you with yours. Or at least, calm down and all." Gavin laughs and good-naturedly pats his arm. "Thanks. The others are in the living room pl-" 

"WHO THE FUCK THREW THAT BLUE SHELL I WILL FUCK YOU UP-"

"Well, uh, yeah. Playing Mario Kart."

Ryan arrived next, and was once again answered by Gavin. This time, the latter didn't have any time to get words out, but was immediately engulfed in Ryan's gentle hug, surrounded by the soft scent of chives that always seemed to surround him, making even mid summer seem a bit more like the holiday season. Gavin didn't question it. Ryan wasn't often a very touchy-feely person, and rarely even gave hugs, so it was a time to savor it. 

It wasn't a very long or short hug, but it seemed to last forever but be over all too shortly. It was one of those hugs that was tight and made it more difficult to breathe, but not one that strangled the receiver. Ryan's hand moved gently up and down Gavin's back as both stayed quiet. Again, it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but it was one you would wish to break with something amusing or witty or a joke. But neither did. 

After about a minute, both relinquished, and just stared at each other. Not a lovers' stare or anything, just more or less a reassuring stare. It broke, and they walked back to the others, Geoff and Jack arguing over which Legend of Zelda game was the best. 

Ray arrived last. He didn't knock or ring the doorbell, he waltzed right in more or less, and ruffled Gavin's hair to make it stick even more on end than it already was. Jokes and sarcastic remarks began to fly from his mouth as he joined in the Mario party, kindly teasing everyone in the room except for Gavin, even himself, to pry out laughter. 

Toward the end of the night, Geoff gave in to sleep and let people who wanted to stay overnight stay. Jack, Meg, and Ray all headed home, but Ryan, Michael, and Lindsay all stayed. It ended up as a small cuddle-fest between Michael and Gavin, with Ryan pulled in more or less. Team Nice Dynamite was snuggled up together on two thirds of the couch, Gavin's feet hanging off one end and his head resting in Ryan's lap. Ryan slept mostly upright, half slouched over the arm of the couch, head leaned back. Lindsay curled up on a chair similar to the way a cat would, and quickly fell asleep. 

As for Geoff, he cleaned up the few scattered paper plates and soda cans, then finished up sweeping away the glass within Gavin's room into a paper bag, then tossing the paper bag away. He slept soundly and happily in his own room, proud of what he had done for Gavin.


End file.
